I had a couple of issues pop up at the same time and I’m hoping someone has seen this combination before.
I took the car out twice last Saturday. The first time I noticed it getting a little warm (200-210). I didn’t think it was that big of a deal since it was a very hot day and I was fully enjoying the A/C.
Later in the afternoon I took it out again and although it was cooler at the time, the car still began to overheat. Being a member of the male species I decided that rather than taking it easy to get back home I would see how it was affecting performance. The car was bogging down and lurching. When I came to my senses and just started to take it easy the car was kind of cycling in and out of overdrive. I checked all the gauges and the volts was showing about 11.
I got home and turned on the manual cooling fan to try to cool the car down so I could take the radiator cap off and see if the thermostat was opening. My neighbor is an amputee who recently had a stroke and about that time he came around the corner to talk. I didn’t want to leave the fan running that long, but he’s a nice guy and let’s just say the stroke hasn’t affected his vocal cords. When I finally got back to the car it was plenty cool, but the battery was dead.
I charged the car overnight and tried it again the next day. The car does seem to slowly overheat and the volts drop over about 10 minutes from about 11 to 9 or so and then the car dies. Although it looks like a possible alternator and thermostat problem it just seems strange that these tow things would happen at once. Is it possible that the tensioner pulley might be bad so the belt isn’t turning the water pump or alternator properly? How would I check this?
I know these may sound like obvious issues to some of you , but I'm a newbie and its just strange that they would occur at the same time so I’m looking for someway they may be connected.
Thanks,
Joey
I took the car out twice last Saturday. The first time I noticed it getting a little warm (200-210). I didn’t think it was that big of a deal since it was a very hot day and I was fully enjoying the A/C.
Later in the afternoon I took it out again and although it was cooler at the time, the car still began to overheat. Being a member of the male species I decided that rather than taking it easy to get back home I would see how it was affecting performance. The car was bogging down and lurching. When I came to my senses and just started to take it easy the car was kind of cycling in and out of overdrive. I checked all the gauges and the volts was showing about 11.
I got home and turned on the manual cooling fan to try to cool the car down so I could take the radiator cap off and see if the thermostat was opening. My neighbor is an amputee who recently had a stroke and about that time he came around the corner to talk. I didn’t want to leave the fan running that long, but he’s a nice guy and let’s just say the stroke hasn’t affected his vocal cords. When I finally got back to the car it was plenty cool, but the battery was dead.
I charged the car overnight and tried it again the next day. The car does seem to slowly overheat and the volts drop over about 10 minutes from about 11 to 9 or so and then the car dies. Although it looks like a possible alternator and thermostat problem it just seems strange that these tow things would happen at once. Is it possible that the tensioner pulley might be bad so the belt isn’t turning the water pump or alternator properly? How would I check this?
I know these may sound like obvious issues to some of you , but I'm a newbie and its just strange that they would occur at the same time so I’m looking for someway they may be connected.
Thanks,
Joey
